The present invention relates to disposable absorbent articles. Examples of such disposable absorbent articles include disposable underwear, taped diapers, pull-on diapers, training pants, incontinence articles, catamenial devices, and disposable panties for menstrual use. The present invention more particularly relates to disposable absorbent articles having an improved soft barrier cuff.
Disposable absorbent articles such as disposable underwear, taped diapers, pull-on diapers, training pants, incontinence articles, catamenial devices, disposable panties for menstrual use and the like are well known in the art. The major function of disposable absorbent articles is to absorb and contain body exudates. Such articles are also intended to prevent body exudates from soiling, wetting, or otherwise contaminating clothing or other articles, such as bedding, that come in contact with the wearer. The most common mode of failure for such products occurs when body exudates leak out of the gaps between the article and the wearer""s leg or waist to adjacent clothing because they are not immediately absorbed within the article. This is most evident with loose fecal material which is not easily absorbed by the absorbent article and tends to xe2x80x9cfloatxe2x80x9d on the top surface of the absorbent article.
To improve the containment by the disposable absorbent articles, it is well known to provide barrier cuffs or flaps in the disposable absorbent articles. Examples of such barrier cuffs or flaps are disclosed in various patent publications such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,803 entitled xe2x80x9cDisposable Absorbent Article Having Elasticized Flapsxe2x80x9d issued to Aziz et al. on Mar. 20, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,278 entitled xe2x80x9cAbsorbent Article Having Dual Cuffsxe2x80x9d issued to Lawson on Sep. 22, 1987; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,454 entitled xe2x80x9cAbsorbent Article Having Leakage-Resistant Dual Cuffsxe2x80x9d issued to Dragoo on Jan. 3, 1989.
For many such barrier cuffs or flaps, while the soft and conformable properties of nonwoven webs used therein are expected, the barrier property thereof is also important to ensure the containment function of the disposable absorbent articles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,751 entitled xe2x80x9cDisposable Garment With Improved Containment Meansxe2x80x9d issued to Buff, Sr. et al. on Feb. 20, 1996 suggests spunbond-meltblown laminated webs and spunbond-meltblown-spunbond laminated webs to improve the containment function of the barrier cuffs or flaps. However, those laminated webs may not be soft, conformable and breathable enough, thus sometimes causing skin disorders on the skin of the wearer, including diaper rash, erythema (i.e., redness), heat rash, abrasion and pressure marks. Consequently, there is still a need to improve the soft and conformable properties of the barrier cuffs while ensuring the containment function of the disposable absorbent articles.
The present invention is directed to a disposable absorbent article. The disposable absorbent article comprises a liquid previous topsheet; a liquid impervious backsheet combined with the topsheet; an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet; and a barrier cuff having a proximal edge and a distal edge, the proximal edge being joined to the topsheet and the distal edge being away from the top surface of the topsheet. The barrier cuff comprises a single layer web having a water resistance value of at least about 150 mmH2O, and an average bending force value of less than about 25 mg cm2/cm.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become evident to those skilled in the art from a reading of the present disclosure.